| Hearts, minds & skateboards |
| Written by Jayne Kearney |
 From Edition 12 – August 2008Jayne Kearney reports on the Aussie-Afghan phenomenon of Skateistan. Welcome to the nightmarish playgrounds of Afghanistan, where despite the ever-present suicide bombs and the foreboding presence of armed foreigners, ‘childhood’ is not graced with our sense of serenity. Despite this abyss, we’ve discovered a reminder that kids are still kids. Decades of conflict in the region have relegated any Western vision of childhood to a surrealist fantasy. So is the last place in the world you would expect to find three young Australians running a skateboarding school? Oliver Perkovich, Sharna Nolan and Travis Beard established Skateistan - Afghanistan’s first co-educational skateboarding school - in 2007. As Oliver told Sunny Days, “kids in Afghanistan miss out on their childhood and grow up far too fast. It is obvious that many of them have seen a lot of suffering.” Enter the Skateistan project. Providing structured training and mentoring in skateboard skills, skateboard instruction, park management and safety, Skateistan also teaches life skills and communications training. The founders believe that the life skills offered by the program will enable the kids to “resolve many of the problems that they will inherit on reaching adulthood.” And there are many problems that need resolving in Afghanistan. While it may seem idealistic to assume that these can be overcome by a trio of Australian kids with skateboards, Oliver says, “Hopefully we can get Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Turkmen from a range of socio-economic backgrounds and foreigners all in the same place where we will all share a space, learn from each other and realise that we are all equal on a skateboards.” Oliver also believes that cross-cultural relationships are enhanced by forging a bond with Afghan youth. He says, “Afghan kids are normal kids who want to have fun and are interested in learning about other cultures. They don’t carry the same prejudices that their parents carry so that is why it’s important to work with children in Afghanistan before the opportunity to engage with them is lost.” While Skateistan has already attracted international media attention, they are struggling to get the safety gear and skateboards their crew ddesperately needs. Major skateboarding companies have already donated gear, which sadly sits in Melbourne warehouses, as they cannot afford to ship it over. The Australian Defence Minister has stated a willingness to assist, yet numerous requests have come to no avail; understandably they are preoccupied with other priorities. Presumably, projects such as Skateistan could achieve the stated Coalition aim of winning over some Afghani “hearts and minds” . If you want to find out more about Skateistan, then first you should check out their website where you can see more amazing photographs, read their stories and see how the project is actually operating day-to-day. The most important thing to know is that they need your help. Please get together with whatever commnity organisation you can muster and pass around the hat for some Australians with initative who need all the support they can get. Details of how you can get them the funds are on the web. skateistan.org |